Wang Xiaozhao, a coal machine operator in Yujialiang Coal Mine of Shendong Coal, sits in the remote control room of the fully-mechanized coal mining face, using a handle to perform underground coal cutting. In the control room, Wang can control more than 200 devices in the workingface in real time, acquire real-time data on parameters including the mine pressure, mining height, the straightness of the bracket, and fluctuation of the mining face, and complete the mining operation remotely.
A coal machine operator performs coal cutting in a remote way.
“The mining height in the thin coal seam is only 1.5 meters,” Wang said. “In traditional mining ways, we had to crawl back and forth with the mine cutter. We never got a chance to stretch the waist. It was painstaking. Now, all we need to do is sit in the ground control room and perform the task remotely. It's much easier.”
Yujialiang Coal Mine implements Shendong Coal’s first pilot program for automating the mining of thin seam coal. It makes use of its experience in the big data platform to achieve the goal of intelligent mining face and make coal workers' laborious job much easier.
Shendong Coal plans to finish smart transformation by the end of 2022 across its 13 coal mines, 11 coal washeries, and an industrial park. Permanent positions in the pits will all go automated and all fully-mechanized mining and driving faces as well as coal preparation plants will realize the goal of going smart.
